Always adding a touch of class to his two minutes or more in many a comedy, with a good part in “The Wild Geese” to round off his career. A protégé of Dame Sybil Thorndike no less, the big-hootered man specialised in soldiering via Kwai et al., but also branched out into thugs, cowboys and medieval barons. A dotage appearing in reliable children’s fare like The Tomorrow People, One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing and Look and Read’s Fair Ground! assured ready recognition for the next generation too.
FINEST HOUR: Evincing a frighteningly violent portrayal of wayward Cornish sailor Matthew Quintal in Mutiny on the Bounty, then sending up that very performance the following year in Carry On Jack.
